Congress
‘My dream job has turned into a nightmare’: Ex-feds and public service experts testify to Congress on how to rebuild government post-Trump
Some recommendations that several Democratic lawmakers and advocates brought up included overturning Schedule Policy/Career, restoring collective bargaining rights for the federal workforce and increasing congressional oversight.
DHS to shut down after lawmakers, White House fail to reach agreement on funding and reforms
Most non-ICE, non-CBP employees are now facing potentially delayed paychecks.
Dem lawmakers propose 4.1% raise for feds in 2027
The annual reintroduction of the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act aims to set a baseline for negotiations around federal employee compensation for the coming year.
DHS implies it will stop certain oversight investigations, senator alleges
A Homeland Security Department official stressed in a statement that the secretary has the authority to pause some inspector general inquiries.
House panel advances bill to update federal worker buyout caps
Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments offered to federal workers during agency downsizings, have been capped at $25,000 since the 1990s. Newly advanced legislation would tie maximum payouts to half of an employee’s annual salary.
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Democrats ask watchdog marked by past controversy to expedite reviews of ICE, CBP
Misconduct allegations against Homeland Security Department inspector general Joseph Cuffari were substantiated in 2024, but President Joe Biden did not remove him.
House Democrats call for Kristi Noem’s firing in rally outside ICE headquarters
Congressional Democrats continued to keep up the pressure on the Homeland Security secretary Tuesday in the wake of the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents.
Congress guarantees furloughed feds’ back pay despite continued White House maneuvering
The Office of Personnel Management removed citations of the 2019 Federal Employee Fair Treatment Act from its shutdown guidance last month, as the Trump administration continues to insist that the law guaranteeing all federal employees back pay after a shutdown doesn’t.
Employees begin furloughs as lawmakers hope to end shutdown Tuesday
The unusual nature of the funding lapse has led to some confusion for impacted federal workers.
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Shutdown deal struck after failed Senate vote
Senate Democrats and the White House reached an agreement late Thursday to fund most departments and agencies through Sept. 30 after a previous funding bill was blocked.
Eleanor Holmes Norton to retire from Congress after decades of advocating for federal employees
Norton has been a “loyal friend” to the American Federation of Government Employees, said National President Everett Kelley.
Out of government, former USAID employees continue to offer their expertise
Former development workers founded Aid on the Hill to lobby members of Congress about international assistance.
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Funding rescissions, re-staffing initiatives and other major takeaways from the final FY26 funding package
Lawmakers again declined to provide Trump with most of the funding cuts he requested.
New Senate bill would bar administration officials from serving as an inspector general
Most IGs confirmed since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term have experience working in his administration.
Education begins moving out employees even as Congress says it lacks authority
In bipartisan, bicameral spending package, lawmakers look to pump the brakes on the dismantling of Education that the department advanced on Tuesday.
Shutdown odds plummet after House and Senate strike bipartisan deal on remaining funding bills
New package would avoid significant cuts at most agencies.
Lawmakers propose 35% pay raise for federal prison workers
Bipartisan legislation would establish a special pay rate for employees at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons until the agency reduces its reliance on mandatory overtime and augmentation of support staff’s duties.
Democrats question White House tech lead on how workforce churn will impact AI Action Plan
Several House lawmakers also worried over whether the Trump administration’s budget request for 2026 would fall short of the funding agencies need to successfully carry out the White House’s AI action plan.
How many Jan. 6 rioters work for the federal government? Raskin wants to find out
The Maryland Democrat also criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for wearing masks in a letter to the Trump administration that the Homeland Security Department called “reckless, disgusting and unhinged.”
Trump administration stands up consolidated federal firefighting agency over bipartisan congressional reservations
Interior says it is only restructuring internally, though it is still working toward Trump's goal of an interagency merger.
Most newly confirmed Trump inspectors general previously worked in his administration, raising fears about independent agency oversight
These oversight officials may have to recuse themselves from investigations of programs they previously worked on, an expert said.
